Philippine Sports News and Updates

MANILA, Philippines - Alaska coach Tim Cone admitted yesterday several PBA teams inquired about the availability of two-time MVP Willie Miller and even made serious trade offers but said the Aces are far from giving up their leading scorer.

Miller, 32, led Alaska to the Finals of the Philippine Cup, where he was named Best Player, last season. He averaged 16.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 47 games this past campaign. Alaska is Miller’s third team after starting with Red Bull as the league’s top overall draft pick in 2001 and moving to Talk ‘N’ Text.

“We never offered Willie in trade to anyone,” said Cone. “But we did entertain offers from other teams when they inquired about him. However, nothing was really close to being worth moving a talent like Willie.”

Cone likened Miller’s situation to Kobe Bryant’s. He recalled Bryant once thought of leaving the Los Angeles Lakers, decided to stay and eventually took the team to the NBA championship.

“The only parallel I can use is, a couple of years ago, Kobe wanted to be traded from the Lakers and look how that turned out,” said Cone.

In last Sunday’s draft, Alaska tapped 6-5 Michael Burtscher in the first round and six-foot Sean Co in the second. Burtscher, a Fil-Swiss whose mother Juliet Morato is a Filipina, was the fifth overall pick and Co the 15th.

Cone cleverly disguised his intentions when he sent in his top 10 choices in a pre-draft survey. Neither Burtscher nor Co was in his list. Japeth Aguilar, Rico Maierhofer, Chris Ross, Jervy Ruz, James Sena, Ogie Menor, Ronnie Matias, Chris Timberlake, Joshua Urbiztondo and Marcy Arellano were in Cone’s list.

“No doubt, Burtscher is a project but next to Aguilar and Maierhofer, he was by far the best athlete in the draft,” noted Cone. “Plus, he has a Rudy Hatfield-like motor which means he has potential to improve.”

Alaska is looking to bounce back from a season that owner Fred Uytengsu described recently as “painful” and “disappointing.” The Aces went the distance in losing to Talk ‘N’ Text in the Philippine Cup Finals and wound up ninth in the Fiesta Conference.

Alaska posted a 12-6 record in the All-Filipino eliminations, took out Sta. Lucia in the semifinals and blew a twice-to-beat advantage as the Aces lost Games 6 and 7 to the Tropang Texters in the Last Dance.

In the just-concluded Fiesta Conference, the Aces got off to a 0-3 start with interim import Galen Young then original choice Rosell Ellis flew in. But the No. 9 Aces couldn’t get over the hump and lost to No. 4 Burger King, 96-90, in the wildcard playoffs with a twice-to-beat disadvantage.

Uytengsu said losing Game 7 in the Philippine Cup Finals was a bitter pill. Talk ‘N’ Text, which trailed 0-2 and 2-3 in the series, took the clincher, 93-89.

“We lost the title,” he pointed out. “We’re not happy about it. Give Talk ‘N’ Text credit for winning it but the bottom line is we blew it. Down the stretch, we missed free throws and an easy layup.”

The second-place trophy isn’t on display in the Alaska 6th floor office lobby in Makati. Only the team’s 12 championship trophies, all won with Cone at the helm, are.

In the Fiesta Conference, Uytengsu said the Aces just couldn’t get going.

“I thought the guys were feeling sorry for themselves because of what happened in the previous Finals,” said Uytengsu. “They were sulking and moping. Midway the eliminations, I talked to them. I told them forget what happened in the last Finals, it’s over, let’s move on.”

A poor start with an out-of-shape Young brought Alaska down to the cellar and Ellis, coming off a gruelling stint in the Australian league, couldn’t get the juices flowing game in, game out.

“Rosell still had game,” said Uytengsu. “But in the end, he looked really tired and burned out. From playing in Australia, he asked to go back to the US and rest for a week before coming over. He gave us a lift in some games but in today’s PBA which is very competitive and balanced, it’s difficult for any one player to dominate every game. It takes a team effort to win consistently.”

Uytengsu said he’s hoping for a big surge from Alaska this season.

“We’re approaching our 25th anniversary in the PBA (Alaska joined in 1986),” he said. “We’d like to be ready to win some more championships.”

In the offseason, Alaska renewed the contracts of L. A. Tenorio, Sonny Thoss and Brandon Cablay. An offer has been made to renew Jeffrey Cariaso’s contract and an agreement is expected this week.

• Philstar
• Philippine Sports Central